Gulf South Actors is a Restricted Group with 571 members.

Primary Navigation

What can a judge for the National Emmy Awards teach you about how to win roles?

Expand Messages

Veleka Gray

Hello, Actors, I m writing to tell you why you should train with me if you want to win your auditions and earn your living as an actor. I had a wonderful

Message 1 of 2
, May 14, 2011

0 Attachment

Hello, Actors,

I'm writing to tell you why you should train with me if you want to win your auditions and earn your living as an actor. I had a wonderful career in television and achieved most of my dreams, and I began teaching because it was time to give back. I've been coaching actors for twenty-five years, ever since I decided to follow another dream, which is to empower actors to reach their goals and bypass the pitfalls that nearly stopped me.

The most important thing I learned from becoming a professional is that timing and luck and perseverance are everything. You can do nothing to control when it's time for the realization of your dreams. It's like waiting in line for a movie. You just have to wait your turn. But you can develop your talent while you're waiting, and you can make your own luck by employing perseverance.

Here are two of my favorite quotes on staying the course until success is achieved. The first is from a book on mountaineering by W. H. Murray:

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative [or creation], there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves, too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have believed would have come his way. I learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets:
Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it!"

The second quote is from Abraham Lincoln:

"I will prepare, and someday my chance will come."

To prepare and move forward when no one is asking you to is a big deal. You must believe in yourself to do that. You must have confidence that what you have to offer the world will be wanted.

There is little market research on this. But if you put yourself out there wisely again and again, one day your chance will come.

How can you persevere wisely? That's where I come in. I am here to give you the support and coaching you must have to prepare for success. This training involves much more than acting. You learn business skills as well that will serve a diligent student in any field of endeavor.

Anyone with even limited experience can teach an acting class. But not many coaches can teach you how to be successful. i can because I got to the top of my field, and I can show you how to get to the top of yours.

Contact me for what I can do for you. To know more about my background, see my bio below. To know more about the classes starting on the week of May 23rd, check out my Web site:

Dubbed "World Class Coach" by 225alive.com, Veleka Gray, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, is a professional actress, educator, writer, director, casting director, and award-winning producer with credits in film, television, and Broadway.

She had more contract roles on soaps than any other actor in soap history. Whenever she had a day off, she was cast in commercials for dozens of products, such as Coca-Cola, Dristan, Noxema, and more. She worked both on-camera and as a voice-over artist, and she was one of the regulars on the CBS Radio Mystery Theater.

As a coach, she has trained actors for twenty-five years in New York, San Francisco, at a college in Chicago, and, since 2000, all over Louisiana. The model for her teaching approach is the old Hollywood studio system where actors are trained and then cast in projects to develop their commercial viability and visibility through experience. This is why at her Actors Alliance showcases filmmakers, casting directors, and agents are invited to attend to help kickstart her students' careers.

She is frequently asked to be a moderator or hostess for industry events and to be a judge for talent contests and pageants. During her fifteen years on soaps, Veleka, who maintains her membership in the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, was a judge for the national Emmy awards for fifteen years and is judging the nominees for the 2011 award season. in 1976, she was televised presenting the Emmy for Best Director.

She began writing while living in New York and sold a screenplay to Columbia. She was on staff for six years at the Soap Opera Digest magazine. She had a bimonthly advice column, plus she wrote feature articles about other actors for SOD and other fan magazines.

In January, 2009, she added producing to her curriculum vitae. Her first credit behind the camera was as executive producer of the award-winning short film "Halfway," which was shown at the New Orleans Film Festival in October. She was the writer/director of her own student film "Reunion," also shot in October.

In 2010, Veleka was executive producer for a short shot for a Lionsgate contest. Her fourth stint as executive producer was for the award-winning short "Achtung!" submitted to the 2010 48 Hour Film Project, for which she was also co-writer.

Collaborating with colleagues in her professional organization, the Louisiana Filmmakers Meetup, she is developing other film projects for 2011. She is a member of MENSA, is vested in both Screen Actors Guild and AFTRA, and was inducted into the Louisiana Hall of Fame in Lafayette in 2004.

Hello, Actors, I m writing to tell you why you should train with me if you want to win your auditions and earn your living as an actor. I had a wonderful

Message 2 of 2
, May 15, 2011

0 Attachment

Hello, Actors,

I'm writing to tell you why you should train with me if you want to win your
auditions and earn your living as an actor. I had a wonderful career in
television and achieved most of my dreams, and I began teaching because it
was time to give back. I've been coaching actors for twenty-five years,
ever since I decided to follow another dream, which is to empower actors to
reach their goals and bypass the pitfalls that nearly stopped me.

The most important thing I learned from becoming a professional is that
timing and luck and perseverance are everything. You can do nothing to
control when it's time for the realization of your dreams. It's like
waiting in line for a movie. You just have to wait your turn. But you can
develop your talent while you're waiting, and you can make your own luck by
employing perseverance.

Here are two of my favorite quotes on staying the course until success is
achieved. The first is from a book on mountaineering by W. H. Murray:

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always
ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative [or creation], there is
one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
Providence moves, too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would
never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the
decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and
meetings and material assistance, which no man could have believed would
have come his way. I learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets:

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.

Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it!"

The second quote is from Abraham Lincoln:

"I will prepare, and someday my chance will come."

To prepare and move forward when no one is asking you to is a big deal. You
must believe in yourself to do that. You must have confidence that what you
have to offer the world will be wanted.

There is little market research on this. But if you put yourself out there
wisely again and again, one day your chance will come.

How can you persevere wisely? That's where I come in. I am here to give
you the support and coaching you must have to prepare for success. This
training involves much more than acting. You learn business skills as well
that will serve a diligent student in any field of endeavor.

Anyone with even limited experience can teach an acting class. But not many
coaches can teach you how to be successful. I can because I got to the top
of my field, and I can show you how to get to the top of yours.

Contact me for what I can do for you. To know more about my background, see
my bio below. To know more about the classes starting on the week of May
23rd, check out my Web site:

Dubbed "World Class Coach" by 225alive.com, Veleka Gray, a native of New
Orleans, Louisiana, is a professional actress, educator, writer, director,
casting director, and award-winning producer with credits in film,
television, and Broadway.

She had more contract roles on soaps than any other actor in soap history.
Whenever she had a day off, she was cast in commercials for dozens of
products, such as Coca-Cola, Dristan, Noxema, and more. She worked both
on-camera and as a voice-over artist, and she was one of the regulars on the
CBS Radio Mystery Theater.

As a coach, she has trained actors for twenty-five years in New York, San
Francisco, at a college in Chicago, and, since 2000, all over Louisiana. The
model for her teaching approach is the old Hollywood studio system where
actors are trained and then cast in projects to develop their commercial
viability and visibility through experience. This is why at her Actors
Alliance showcases filmmakers, casting directors, and agents are invited to
attend to help kickstart her students' careers.

She is frequently asked to be a moderator or hostess for industry events and
to be a judge for talent contests and pageants. During her fifteen years on
soaps, Veleka, who maintains her membership in the National Academy of
Television Arts & Sciences, was a judge for the national Emmy awards for
fifteen years and is judging the nominees for the 2011 award season. in
1976, she was televised presenting the Emmy for Best Director.

She began writing while living in New York and sold a screenplay to
Columbia. She was on staff for six years at the Soap Opera Digest magazine.
She had a bimonthly advice column, plus she wrote feature articles about
other actors for SOD and other fan magazines.

In January, 2009, she added producing to her curriculum vitae. Her first
credit behind the camera was as executive producer of the award-winning
short film "Halfway," which was shown at the New Orleans Film Festival in
October. She was the writer/director of her own student film "Reunion," also
shot in October.

In 2010, Veleka was executive producer for a short shot for a Lionsgate
contest. Her fourth stint as executive producer was for the award-winning
short "Achtung!" submitted to the 2010 48 Hour Film Project, for which she
was also co-writer.

Collaborating with colleagues in her professional organization, the
Louisiana Filmmakers Meetup, she is developing other film projects for 2011.
She is a member of MENSA, is vested in both Screen Actors Guild and AFTRA,
and was inducted into the Louisiana Hall of Fame in Lafayette in 2004.